Friday, June 30, 2017

Jaslene was born on June 3, 2010. When she was an infant, she had already been reported to the DCF hotline twice. She lived with her grandmother and it was alleged that her grandmother let the house become filthy and abused drugs. It was also said that the house had "no food for the children." Next, DCF was told that Jaslene's mother had beaten the children when they would get in trouble. Still, Jaslene remained in the care of her mother.

On September 5, 2013, Jaslene passed way after being beaten, although her mother was not the one who had hurt her. It was her mother's boyfriend, Elisamuel Pacheco. He was charged with first degree murder, capital sexual battery of a child less than twelve years old, and aggravated child abuse. Jaslene had been beaten and sexually abused. Her cause of death was blunt force trauma to her abdomen.

After Jaslene passed away, her siblings revealed that they were afraid of Elisamuel and that he had abused them as well. They also described some of the abuse Jaslene endured. She had been beaten and burnt with a lighter. They also said that Elisamuel got into fistfights with their mother. Elisamuel was charged with killing Jaslene, though at the time this is being posted, I am unable to find any more information about a trial or sentencing. If you know anything about this that you would like me to add to Jaslene's post, please inform me in the comments and I will add it. Thank you.

Josephine was born on March 11, 2012. Her mother was Sarah Harnish and Sean Boice. Josephine's parents were engaged and Sarah seemed to be a happy mother and a successful artist. People who knew Sarah were unaware that she was suffering from mental illness to the degree that she was. It was learned that Sarah had experienced spells of severe anxiety as well as frightening delusions.

Some of the things Sarah believed included that there was cocaine in the water, demons coming from vents in the home, and that famine was coming. Sarah stuffed the vents with pillows and shaved her head. Sarah was taken to a psychiatrist who sedated her and gave her medication. After a brief stay, Sarah was sent back home.

Sarah's family recognized that Sarah did not like to talk about the mental illness she suffered, so they thought that unless something seemed horribly wrong or Sarah brought it up herself, if she seemed to be doing okay, they would not bring it up. Sarah experienced complications after her pregnancy with Josephine, but she seemed happy to friends and family. One of her friends had a baby that was very close in age to Josephine. Just days before Josephine's death, Sarah had taken her to play with the other baby.

Unfortunately, Sarah began showing signs of experiencing delusions again. She was losing weight and had difficulty sleeping. She spoke of suicide, so Sean took her to the hospital. During one visit when he came to visit her, she collapsed at his feet and began crying because she had thought that he and Josephine were dead. Sarah was given no diagnosis by the hospital but she as given a vaccination typically given to patients suffering from schizophrenia as well as medication taken for depression. Then she was released home again.

Sarah complained that the medication she was given made her feel like she wasn't herself. She didn't go to get the follow-up vaccination. Family members noticed that Sarah seemed quieter over the next few weeks. On September 1, 2013, Sarah seemed normal. Sean left the house for a scooter ride after reminding Sarah to take her medication.

When Sean returned home, he found Sarah in a pool of blood in the doorway. She had a gun in her hands that had previously been purchased after the family experienced a burglary. Sean found his daughter, Josephine, laying on a bed. She had a gunshot wound to her head but was still breathing. Sean quickly called the police and flagged down first responders when they arrived. Reports say that Sean had frantically said, "They're shot. They're shot. She shot our baby. She shot our baby." Josephine was rushed to the hospital and then airlifted to another before she passed away. Sarah was also pronounced dead.

It is uncertain what exactly caused Sarah to murder Josephine and then commit suicide. It is likely that she was experiencing extreme delusions at the time

Clayton passed away when he was two years old. He had an older brother named Raleigh. On the day he passed away, his grandmother, Lillian Brown, had left him and his four year old brother in the care of their mother, Talisa Brown, while she went to run errands. Clayton's grandmother had custody of him and his brother because their mother had a diminished mental capacity.

The last time Clayton was seen alive, he and his brother were seen throwing toys into a pond nearby the property. Talisa said that she asked Clayton's brother where he was and his brother began crying and then told her that Clayton was in the pond. Shortly afterwards, a neighbor heard Clayton's mother screaming. Clayton's mother told the neighbor that Clayton was in the water and she could not swim. The neighbor jumped in and performed CPR on Clayton in an attempt to save his life, but he was pronounced deceased at the hospital.

An investigation was done, but I am unable to find any information on whether the drowning was ruled as an accident and no charges were filed, or if charges were filed.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Lamar was born on April 19, 2010 to Lacey Davis. Lacey had a troubled childhood involving foster care. She was diagnosed with a mild developmental disability as well as mental illness. DCF offered her parenting improvement services. Lacey initially accepted these services but then dropped out of them. She and her children then went into the care of the state.

Lamar and his brother were sent to live in a foster home. Later, Lacey asked that her sons go to live with two women that she had befriended from church. These women were Christa Jayne and Marcia Ayers. Christa had been charged two times with driving under the influence and a DCF report revealed that one of Marcia's own children had passed away due to asphyxiation. She had permanently given up custody for her three other children. Unfortunately, Christa and Marcia were never fully investigated before Lamar and his brother were put into their care.

In October of 2012, while the boys were in Christa and Marcia's care, Lamar's younger brother was taken to the emergency room. He left with a splint on his right leg. He had also had a black eye while in the care of Christa and Marica. They told everybody that he had fallen down while playing outside. Later in the same month a caseworker was informed that Lamar had passed away at the hospital. Christa and Marcia said that he had choked on a cookie that he was eating in the car.

An autopsy was performed and it was revealed that Lamar had not choked at all, but that he had passed away due to blunt force trauma. His death was ruled as a homicide. He had several contusions, abrasions, and lacerations/ruptures to his heart. He had also been diagnosed with failure to thrive while he was being fostered.

An investigation proved that Christa had given Lamar "bizarre punishment" and that Marcia was responsible for Lamar's death. At the time, I am unable to find any information about a trial or sentencing in connection to Lamar's abuse and death. If you know anything about this case that is not written here, feel free to inform me in the comments so I can add it to Lamar's post. Thank you.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Dillon was born on February 1, 2005 to Raymond Bahorski and Casey Pence. He had an older brother named Jordan. He was known for being enthusiastic about life and mischievous. His very best friend was his brother, Jordan. He enjoyed drawing and singing. Everyone who met Dillon quickly fell in love with him. He was energetic and loved dancing as well, which he spent Christmas Eve doing with his mother and his grandmother.

Dillon's mother, Casey, was dating a man named Javier Barker. She left Dillon and Jordan in the care of Javier while she attended work. Dillon was three years old and Jordan was five years old. The next morning when Casey returned home she found Dillon laying on the floor. He had been severely beaten. She immediately called the police.

Javier told everybody that the night before he had sent Dillon to bed, but Dillon had been upset and had taken a longer time than usual to fall asleep. Javier said that when he fell asleep he was unaware that Dillon was injured. Dillon's brother, Jordan, told investigators that he had seen Javier go into Dillon's bedroom that night and that he had heard Dillon screaming and crying from the bedroom. Jordan was concerned about Dillon so he went to the room to see what was happening. He saw Javier spanking Dillon and stomping on his ankles. Javier told Jordan to go into the other room and watch a movie. Jordan, only five years old, did what he was told to do, but did tell investigators that he had seen Javier go back and forth from Dillon's room multiple times during which Jordan heard Javier spanking Dillon and heard Dillon screaming and crying.

Jordan was worried about Dillon and asked Javier about him. Javier said that he didn't spank Dillon. Jordan told investigators that, eventually, Dillon stopped crying and went to sleep in the bedroom. Dillon had a skull fracture, brain trauma, and many bruises on various places on his body. When he was taken to the hospital after his mother discovered his beaten body, he was placed on life support. Two days later, Dillon passed away. His organs were donated to save the lives of others.

Javier was charged with second degree murder. During the trial, some of Dillon's cousins attacked Javier and yelled, "You killed my cousin! You killed a three year old boy!" Javier was found guilty of second degree murder and assault. He was sentenced to fifty-five years.

Julian passed away on October 21, 2010 when he was one year old. His mother was Kristen Kappel and his father was Cody Bourg. His cause of death was ruled as asphyxiation. His father was arrested for charges of second degree murder after his death. Before Julian's death, there had been other reports that he may have been being mistreated as well, though these incidents were never reported to authorities.

On October 19, 2010, Cody was watching Julian as other members of the family slept. Cody woke up his mother, Tammy Bourg, and told her that Julian had stopped breathing, They performed CPR on him and called for help. Julian passed away at the hospital just two days later. Investigators believed that Julian had not simply stopped breathing, but had been suffocated by his father, Cody, when Cody was unable to make him stop crying.

At the time this is posted, I am unable to find information about Cody's sentencing, although the trial was delayed in December of 2011.

Aaron was born on January 20, 2006 to Richard Ishmael Jr. and Lena Ishmael. He had one sister named Mariah. On October 1, 2007, Aaron began having seizures. Later in the day he was pronounced brain dead. He was on life support, but the next day he was taken off of life support and officially pronounced deceased.

Before Aaron began having seizures on October 1, 2007, Lena's at-the-time boyfriend, Frank Byers III, had called Lena while she was in town getting food for him and her two children. He said that Aaron had hit his head on the coffee table. Aaron did have a head injury at the time of his death but the coroner said that his injuries were more equivalent to him falling out of a fourth-floor window and landing on his head. First responders and hospital personnel also did not believe that Aaron's injuries could have been caused by hitting his head on a coffee table.

Aaron's death was ruled as a homicide and Frank was the only adult present when he was injured. He was a key person of interest. In order to get him charged with anything, Aaron's mother, Lena, had to take a plea deal and plead guilty for child neglect for leaving Aaron and his sister in the care of Frank while she went out to run errands. Because of this, Aaron's sister was taken from Lena and placed in foster care.

Although Frank was indicted for first degree murder, charges were let go. Attorneys did not explain to Aaron's mother why this was the case, but she was reasonably upset and continues to fight for justice for Aaron on her website, Justice for Aaron, Inc.

Jasmine was born on September 23, 2007 to Martin and Sonia Bellfield. Just two days before Jasmine's death, a healthcare worker had visited her home and determined that Jasmine was not in an emergency situation in the care of her mother. The next evening two nurses were supposed to visit the home that Sonia and Jasmine lived in. When they arrived, nobody answered the door so they decided to check back in the next morning.

The next morning, however, was February 19. Then, it was too late to save Jasmine. They spoke with Sonia that day and she told them, "I have killed my baby." Sonia was diagnosed with schizophrenia and paranoia. She had suffocated Jasmine by putting her hand over Jasmine's nose and mouth. After killing Jasmine, she overdosed on her anti-psychotic medication and laid down next to Jasmine before stabbing herself.

When Sonia did not die from overdosing or stabbing herself, she went downstairs. When police were called to her home they found her covered in blood. Jasmine's body was found in the bedroom. Sonia said she had killed her because she believed that the FBI was coming to get her. Sonia plead guilty to manslaughter. She was sent to a hospital to be treated for her mental health.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Skyla was born on June 5, 1998 to Tammy Brooks. Her biological parents had a relationship that did not last long, and Skyla lived with her mother, Tammy, and Tammy's new significant other, Kurt Vomberg Jr. Soon after Kurt became involved in Tammy and Skyla's life, other family members began noticing signs of abuse on Skyla.

Skyla's grandmother, Robyn Brooks, did her best to remove Skyla from the care of Tammy and Kurt when she saw signs that her granddaughter was being abused. Despite all of Robyn's efforts, Skyla was not removed from the home. The last time Robyn saw Skyla, excluding moments before Skyla passed away, was on February 16, 2000. Skyla seemed alert and playful on this day. Robyn still tried to get the department of human services to take Skyla away from Tammy and Kurt, but nobody would listen to her.

One day, Kurt called emergency services to report that Skyla had choked on something and that he had shaken her to try and save her as she choked. Skyla was rushed to the hospital in an effort to save her life. Medical professionals that attended to Skyla did not believe that Kurt's story was accurate. It was clear to them that Skyla had been abused.

Skyla had suffered through multiple incidents of abuse. She had been hit so hard on her forehead that knuckle marks were left. She had old and new broken bones at the time of her death. She had been bitten on various parts of her body. She had burns from cigarettes as well as bruising and tears to her skin from being sexually abused. Although Skyla endured all of this, her official cause of death was determined to be Shaken Baby Syndrome. Her grandmother, Robyn, got to hold Skyla at the hospital before she passed away. She cuddled her and sang her her favorite nursery rhymes. Skyla passed away about a day after she was admitted to the hospital.

Both Kurt and Tammy were arrested in connection with Skyla's death and molestation. Kurt pleaded no contest to second degree murder and child abuse. He was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison. Tammy was found guilty of child neglect and was sentenced to twenty years in prison.

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Aaden was born on May 2, 2008 to Whitney Flower and Jeffrey Batista. His nickname was "Bubba" and he was known for making everyone around him happy. At the time of Aaden's death, his mother was dating a man named Jason Padgett Sr. Whitney worked as a medical assistant at a local hospital, so she left Aaden in Jason's care while she went to work.

One day, Whitney returned from work to find Aaden unconscious. Jason told her that Aaden had fallen, which is the same thing he told investigators after Whitney rushed Aaden to the hospital where he passed away days later. Later Jason said that he had dropped Aaden, causing him to cry. He said that he couldn't get Aaden to stop crying after he had accidentally dropped him, so he shook Aaden and hit him against the floor.

Jason said that after he beat Aaden, Aaden wasn't unconscious, but he didn't seem as energetic. He gave him candy and put him to bed. By the time Whitney came home, he was unconscious. After Aaden died, witnesses said they saw Jason punch Aaden in his face and head weeks before he passed away, although they did not report the incidents to child protective services. Jason had spent most of the night smoking marijuana and playing games on his xbox after he beat Aaden.

Jason was charged with third degree murder and aggravated child abuse. He was found guilty of these charges and was sentenced to life in prison.

Reagan was two years old when she passed away. Her mother was Jamie Buckley, a teacher at an elementary school. On the day Reagan died, Jamie had taken Reagan in her car and driven to work with her. When Jamie arrived at the elementary school she worked at, it was around 7:30 in the morning. Jamie got out of the car, forgetting that Reagan was inside of it, and went inside to teach her students.

Jamie remained inside the school throughout her entire work day and did not return to her car until around 3:15 p.m. Then, she discovered that Reagan was still inside of the car, strapped inside of her car seat. Reagan was unresponsive and 911 was called but Reagan was unable to be resuscitated and she was pronounced deceased at the scene. The temperature that day outside of the car was 83 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature inside the car was 120 degrees Fahrenheit

An investigation was carried out and Reagan's death was ruled as an accident, so no charges were filed. In interviews after Reagan's death, her mother was visibly distraught. She had usually dropped Reagan off at daycare before heading to work and said that she didn't realize that she had forgotten to drop Reagan off that day. Other teachers that worked with Jamie said that after a meeting that day, Jamie had come back into the school carrying Reagan's body and screaming, "No Reagan, no Reagan!" as she cried. The decision not to press charges was based on this and the fact that Reagan's parents both seemed loving and competent. Reagan never showed any signs of being abused or neglected before, and this incident was ruled as an honest accident.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Rebekah was born on July 31, 2004 to Mervyn and Louise. She was the sister of Craig, Jonathan, Demi, and Tristan. She was known for her bright smile and being kind, generous, and loving. She was quick-witted and intelligent. When Rebekah was eight years old, she was diagnosed with a form of childhood cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, often just called "DIPG."

DIPG is located in the brain stem and due to its location it is inoperable. There is no cure for DIPG, but treatment options are available to help reduce symptoms and improve quality of life. Every child that has been diagnosed with DIPG has eventually lost his or her life to DIPG. Rebekah was diagnosed after falling ill during a One Direction concert. She hadn't been feeling well for a few days. It was initially thought that she had an infection and she was prescribed antibiotics. When those didn't work, she was taken to the hospital.

Blood tests were performed and her parents were becoming increasingly worried. Finally, Rebekah was diagnosed with DIPG. Just twelve weeks later, Rebekah passed away from the disease, though she kept high spirits and fought bravely the entire time. When she passed away,she was surrounded by love and care. She was in her father's arms.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Valentina was born on December 31, 2006 to Erik and Christina Bravin. Valentina liked ballet, ice skating, and playing with her Barbie dolls. In April of 2011, Valentina's parents began noticing changes in her eyes and her mood. She would blink only one eye at odd times and lost interest in some of the things she previously enjoyed. She looked a little cross-eyed and her parents noticed she even seemed a bit depressed.

Valentina's family decided to investigate these changes. In July they visited the pediatrician. Her check up with normal but the pediatrician suggested that she should have an eye examination. The next day they went to have a complete eye exam. She passed the vision test with a perfect score. She had her pupils dilated only to reveal that her eyes seemed healthy in that regard too. The doctor noticed she had difficulty turning her right eye outward, however, so an MRI was suggested.

Valentina's family didn't understand why she would need an MRI and the doctor explained that she had either Right or Abducens Nerve Palsy. They had the MRI and discovered that Valentina had a tumor. They went to the children's hospital and discovered that the type of tumor Valentina had was a form of childhood cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, often just called DIPG. DIPG is inoperable due to its location in the brain stem. There are treatment options for DIPG, but they only reduce symptoms and do not actually cure the child. No cure has been found and every child that has been diagnosed with DIPG has eventually passed away due to it.

Valentina was treated with thirty rounds of radiation in just six weeks, from August 2011 to October 2011. Radiation temporarily shrunk Valentina's tumor, helping her life have maintain more normalcy than it would have had without radiation. She started taking Dexamethasone, which was stopped in September of 2011 and started again in April of 2012. In March of 2012, her tumor symptoms began to resurface. She had an MRI which revealed that the tumor was progressing.

She took a trial treatment, but this unfortunately didn't impede the growth of the tumor. Valentina continued fighting bravely. On July 12, 2012, she passed away surrounded by love.

Kenneth was born on January 11, 2003 to Charles and Traci Bickford. He had a sister named Tempest. He adored Tempest. He also adored his dog, Gilly Sue. He was in second grade and made everybody that knew him happy. Kenneth was diagnosed with a form of childhood cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, which is often simply called "DIPG."

DIPG is inoperable due to its location in the brain stem. There are treatments that reduce the symptoms of DIPG, but there is no cure. Every child that has been diagnosed with DIPG has passed away from the cancer. Kenneth passed away due to DIPG on October 17, 2010 after fighting courageously.

Emma was born on December 12, 2002 to Mary and Ugo. She had two brothers named Matthew and Daniel. Emma passed away when she was eight years old after fighting a form of childhood cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, often called DIPG. DIPG is inoperable due to its location. There is no cure for DIPG, however there are treatments that help reduce symptoms. Every child who has been diagnosed with DIPG has eventually passed away. Emma battled DIPG for sixteen months.

Nicholas was born on March 19, 2005 to Amy Smolak and Joe Ballweber. He had two brothers named Dylan and Jacob. Nicholas was diagnosed with a form of childhood cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, often called DIPG. There is no cure for DIPG and it is inoperable due to its location. There are treatments that help reduce symptoms, but no cure. Every child that has been diagnosed with DIPG has eventually passed away due to the cancer. Nicholas passed away after bravely fighting DIPG for eleven months.

Alexander was born on June 10, 1989 to Luc and Maria Boisclair. He passed away on March 16, 1998. This is all the information I can find about Alexander. If you know anything else about Alexander, feel free to inform me in the comments and I can add it to his post, Thank you.

Conner was born on September 20, 2008 to Mashanna and Jeremy Bachuss. He had three sisters named Lakyn, Olivia, and Vada. He had a brother named Chandler. At the time of Conner's death, his mother was dating a man named Ronald Saunders II. In 2007, while Ronald was in the marines, he was convicted of three assaults on other marines. In 2005, he had been under investigation by Children's Services after his then-girlfriend's son showed up to daycare with bruises after being absent for three days.

Ronald lived with Mashanna and her children, despite his violent history. On December 5, 2010, Mashanna felt very sick due to a kidney stone. She went to sleep to try and get through the pain. One Conner's sisters brought Conner into their mother's room because he had wanted to see her. Ronald told them that Mashanna was sick and she needed to rest, so they left the room. Later, Mashanna felt better so she got up to make breakfast for the children before they went to church. This is when Ronald asked if Conner had been hurt the previous night. Mashanna told him that he had not been. She went into her room to check on him and found him unresponsive. She screamed for Ronald to help and then 911 was called. An ambulance rushed Conner to the hospital.

Hospital staff discovered many injuries on Conner. He had internal bleeding, severe brain damage, 114 puncture wounds, and bruises on multiple parts of his body. There was a thumbtack still puncturing his stomach when he arrived. Doctors had to remove it. After five days on life support, an MRI revealed no brain activity. It was suggested that Conner be removed from life support. Mashanna didn't want Conner to suffer, so she agreed to have him removed from life support after family had time to come and tell him goodbye. His cause of death was ruled as suffocation.

Ronald had been the only adult that had supervised Conner that day, so it was suspected that he had abused Conner. Police did not initially arrest him, as they wanted to be sure to build a strong case beforehand. Mashanna broke up with Ronald and Ronald stalked and harassed her as a result. On December 23, police finally arrested Ronald and charged him with murder.

Ronald said that Conner's daycare had caused his injuries. Then, he said that Mashanna had. He even blamed Conner's sisters for Conner's abuse. Eventually, Ronald told another inmate that he had been sleeping that day on the floor next to Conner. He said that Conner had kicked him in his back and that he then lost control of himself and held Conner's head down with one of his legs across Conner's back and the other across Conner's legs. He also admitted to the inmate that he had used a push pin on Conner. The inmate wrote this down and agreed to testify against Ronald if he could have protection against him.

Ronald took a plea deal and took the Alford plea, meaning he maintained he was not guilty but agreed that there was a lot of evidence against him that would result in him being convicted of the crime. He received ten years in prison for second degree manslaughter. Mashanna attempted to make his sentence longer, but was unsuccessful.

In 2015, Ronald was released from prison. Mashanna hadn't expected him to be released until the next year and was supposed to receive a notification weeks before his release. She was only notified after he was released. She said she was shocked, devastated, disappointed, and angry. She created Conner's Law, which, if passed, would create a minimum sentencing for child abuse cases like Conner that is much, much more than the short sentencing Ronald received. She wanted other families who lost children due to child abuse to receive the proper justice that, unfortunately, Conner did not get.

Shawn Delano Brown Jr. was born on August 5, 2009 to Lenora Horton and Shawn Brown Sr. He was known as being a happy little boy with a beautiful smile. Shawn passed away on January 24, 2010. His father told people that Shawn had passed away after choking on his bottle of baby formula. Shawn Sr. said that he began patting Shawn's back when he choked. He then said that Shawn had made a noise he hadn't ever heard from him before. He said that he would never hurt his son, although he was soon on trial because it was alleged that he had shaken Shawn, which actually caused his death.

Shawn's body was examined after the incident and it was seen that he had severe head injuries. He passed away just two days after being taken to the hospital. When he had arrived at the hospital, he already didn't have a pulse. It was clear to medical professionals that Shawn had been abused, and had not simply choked on his formula.

Shawn was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and child abuse. He was sentenced to eight years. He maintained that Shawn had simply choked on formula throughout the trial, although doctors testified that his cause of death was a head injury.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Jermani was born on January 23, 2008. She passed away just a few days before she would have turned six years old. She was known as being happy, feisty, and sweet. She liked riding her bicycle, playing with her brother, singing, and being with her mother. She was a very affectionate little girl who loved giving hugs. Her mother was Noni Brooks.

Jermani as well as her mother, Noni, were shot in their parked car while they waited for Noni's fiance to return from collecting a debt. Jermani and Noni were shot in their heads, A gunman had pulled up near their car, gotten out of his vehicle, and opened fire. Jermani quickly passed away from her wounds but Noni survived, although she is now blind in one eye. Jermani's brother who was eight years old at the time witnessed the shooting.

Police arrested Geoffrey Gurkovich. He was charged with aggravated murder. Geoffrey said that he had not known that Jermani and her family were in the car when he began shooting. Geoffrey admitted his guilt, according to his family, because he did not want his family to go through a trial. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty-six years.

Carlie was born on March 16, 1992. She was eleven years old on February 1, 2004 when she was walking home after a sleepover at a friend's home. Her stepfather, Steve Kansler, had been going to pick Carlie up part of the way home. He searched for Carlie around the route she was taking but was unable to find her.

Carlie had decided to take a short cut through a car wash that was nearby her home. By the car wash, a man who appeared to be dressed in a uniform approached Carlie and spoke to her briefly before leading her away. A surveillance video caught this on tape, capturing the last moments that Carlie was seen alive by anyone other than her abductor. She never returned home.

NASA helped work on the investigation using technology they used in a previous space shuttle disaster to help enhance the video in an effort to identify the man who abducted Carlie. The FBI also jumped on the case and searched for Carlie and the abductor. Police received tips from people who had heard about Carlie and seen the surveillance video. These tips led them to a man named Joseph Smith. A woman who lived with Joseph was one of the tipsters. Joseph had been being held for a parole violation since the day after Carlie disappeared.

Joseph refused to know anything about Carlie or her disappearance. On February 6, Carlie's body was found in a church parking lot near her home. She had been murdered the day after she was abducted. Police still looked into Joseph. He was a father of three who had been arrested thirteen times since 1993. He had previously been charged with kidnapping and he was a prime suspect in Carlie's case. On February 20, Joseph was arrested for first degree murder, kidnapping, and capital sexual battery.

During the trial, many people who had seen Joseph testified that they recognized him from the video of Carlie being abducted. Tattoos were also visible from the video and they appeared to match Joseph's tattoos. Joseph's semen was also found on Carlie's clothing. Joseph's brother had also been the one to lead police to Carlie's body after, during a jail visit, Joseph had confessed to him that he had killed Carlie. Joseph's brother testified to this and told jurors that Joseph had told him that he had "had rough sex" with Carlie before strangling her to death.

Joseph was found guilty of his charges and was given the penalty of death by lethal injection.

Lela was three years old when she passed away. Her mother, Meriel Bemis, murdered her after becoming upset that her relationship with her boyfriend had ended. Meriel had become angry that another woman had texted her boyfriend, Troy, and she and her boyfriend began arguing about it, which eventually caused her boyfriend to break up with her.

Later, Meriel called her boyfriend. Troy initially refused to pick up the phone. When he decided to give in and answer the call, her heard Meriel scream, "I killed her!" Meriel told him that Lela was unconscious. Troy went to the home and found Lela unconscious on the bathroom floor. He called 911 and attempted to perform CPR on Lela. Lela was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced deceased.

The police were notified. Meriel told police that she had taken Lela out of her bed, took her to the bathroom, put her on the bathroom floor, and smothered her with a pillow. Then, Meriel had attempted to end her own life. Meriel plead guilty to murder Lela and was sentenced to life in prison.

Kieron was twenty-two months old when he passed away. His mother, Louise Barley, was dating a man named Craig Lewis at the time. Craig had moved in with Louise and Kieron about a month before Kieron passed away. Just weeks before Kieron passed away, a childcare professional brought up concerns about Kieron's well being. She wanted Kieron to be placed on a Child Protection Plan, but the request was denied by two of her managers.

Not only was Kieron failed by those managers, shortly before Kieron died, he was seen by a doctor at Birmingham Children's Hospital. This doctor saw suspicious injuries on Kieron's back but failed to report them to anybody. After Kieron's death an examination showed that he suffered multiple injuries from abuse including a serious head injury and a spinal fracture.

Had Kieron been put on the Child Protection Plan, as the childcare professional suggested, medical staff would have been alerted when he went to the hospital to be on the lookout for possible indications of abuse which may have assured that Kieron was removed from the abusive situation before it ended his life.

The doctor who had failed to report or even question the bruises on Kieron's back had seen him on May 17. When Kieron was brought back to the same hospital on May 28, 29, and 30, doctors did not even notice that he had a broken vertebrae, though they did advice Craig and Louise to take Kieron for further observation. In addition, Louise and Craig were said to have told the doctors lies about why Kieron was visiting the hospital. On one of the days, Kieron was there because Craig had slammed him roughly into the living room floor. On the other days Kieron was brought to the hospital, staff did not notice injuries but did diagnose Kieron with possible gastroenteritis.

The injury that ultimately ended Kieron's life was caused by Craig shaking him so violently in his bedroom that he had a massive brain injury. Craig was addicted to cocaine and admitted to police that he had shaken Kieron. He admitted to manslaughter and inflicting bodily harm. Louise admitted to child cruelty.

Craig was sentenced to eight years and Louise was sentenced to fifteen months.

Chloe was four years old when she passed away. Her mother was Dawn Makin. On February 14, 2011, Dawn picked Chloe up from her nursery school, and this was the last time Chloe was seen alive. The next day, Dawn texted Chloe's school and her own parents saying that both she and Chloe were feeling ill because of a stomach bug and that they were going to go visit the doctor.

The next day, Dawn thanked her mother over the phone for taking out the trash. She wrote on Facebook that she and Chloe were both sick. Her friend sent her a text which she read, but did not reply to. The next day, February 17, multiple people called and texted Dawn, but she didn't answer any of them. Her mother became concerned when she went to the house and saw that all the curtains were closed and the house was quiet.

Because of her concern, Dawn's mother went to speak to a neighbor. The two decided to break into Dawn's home to be sure that Dawn and Chloe were okay. They found Dawn unconscious and Chloe beside her. Chloe was wearing her pajamas surrounded by stuffed animals. She had been stabbed multiple times very deeply. She had lost a significant amount of blood as well. Many carving and kitchen knives were found in the room too.

It is believed that Chloe survived for several hours after being stabbed before she passed away due to her injuries. The stab wounds had caused her lungs to collapse which led to infection and pneumonia. Chloe also had wounds on her hands that were caused when she held her hands up, trying to defend herself as she was being attacked. Dawn was the one who had stabbed Chloe several times in her neck and chest. After stabbing Chloe, Dawn had changed Chloe's pajama bottoms and tried to clean her pajama shirt with water.

Dawn's clothing also had blood all over it. Dawn had written several suicide notes, taken paracetamol (a drug used to reduce pain and fever,) cut her own wrists, and drank antifreeze before officers arrived. One of her suicide notes warned her parents not to enter the room. Dawn had also taken the last photograph taken of Chloe and wrote on the back, "I'm so sorry I have taken her away from you all, but I couldn't leave her here with no mummy. That would be too cruel. Sorry."

Dawn was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. It was clear from the start of the discovery of her body that Chloe could not be saved. Dawn survived, but she had serious injuries that now confine her to a wheelchair. She is also permanently disabled. When interviewed about Chloe's death, she said that she did not remember what happened. It is believed that Dawn losing her job as a nurse after leaking confidential patient information and the end of her relationship in the months preceding Chloe's death might have been cause for her to begin considering ending her life.

Despite being disabled and claiming to not remember what happened on the day Chloe died, Dawn was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to twelve years in prison after she denied murder, but plead guilty to manslaughter.

Kamden was born on July 7, 2010 to Clif Bailey and Vanessa Coomer. He was known as being a sweet and happy baby. Kamden passed away after being left in the care of his mother's boyfriend, Rodney Pettigrew. While Rodney was alone with Kamden, he called 911 reporting that Kamden had fallen about four feet from the kitchen counter to the floor, and that now he was not breathing.

Rodney initially said he had not seen Kamden fall, but later told investigators that he saw Kamden fall head first. This was the first inconsistency in Rodney's story. Rodney told officers he tried to revive Kamden for two minutes before calling for help. Kamden was rushed to a nearby hospital and then taken to one that could better help him. Medical examiners did not think that Kamden's injuries could be caused by a fall like Rodney described.

Kamden had a complex skull fracture that was believed to be caused by abusive trauma. Kamden passed away from this head injury the next day. Rodney was charged with Kamden's death. He was found guilty of capital murder and was given a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Friday, June 16, 2017

Mattisyn was born on June 25, 2013 to Matthew and Jennifer Blaz. She had two siblings named Kiera and Aavery. When Mattisyn was just two weeks old, her father, Matthew, came home drunk and physically abused Jennifer while Jennifer was holding Mattisyn. Then, Matthew took the baby from Jennifer and would not give her back. Matthew only gave Mattisyn back to Jennifer when Jennifer called the police.

The next day, Child Protective Services came to talk to the family. Matthew plead guilty to assault. He was to take anger management classes and not have contact with Jennifer. Shortly after this, Mattisyn was alone with Matthew and he threw her to the ground roughly. This, of course, caused many intense injuries to Mattisyn, an infant. The injuries were so severe that she passed away. Matthew had not even attempted to seek medical attention for her in over six hours.

Matthew told investigators that Mattisyn had been dropped by the twelve year old neighbor boy. When medical examiners saw the extent of trauma to Mattisyn's head, they knew this was not the case. In addition, the twelve year old testified that he had not picked up Mattisyn that day, and most definitely had not dropped her. Matthew was charged with homicide and found guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Cash was born on October 16, 2012 to Christopher and Ashley Bell. Both Christopher and Ashley worked, so they hired a nanny to help them take care of Cash. They hired Sarah Cullen. Sarah was twenty-four years old. She was a mother to a toddler and was five months pregnant with her second child at the time. Sarah's record was clear, except for one misdemeanor, which was when she had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence before.

On the last day that Sarah cared for Cash, he was having a good day. Cash was a well behaved baby, and this day was no different than the others. He ate breakfast that morning like normal. Cash was happy and healthy when his parents said goodbye to him before heading to work. Later in the morning when Christopher returned to get something from the home, he noticed Cash was laying face down and breathing oddly in his Pack-N-Play. Christopher assumed Cash's position and his sleeping was causing him to breathe oddly. He rolled him onto his back. When he left, he saw that Sarah was outside with Cash.

Around 10:00 in the morning on February 28, Sarah called her boyfriend, a volunteer firefighter, and told him that she was worried about how Cash was breathing. She asked if her boyfriend would come over to check on Cash. He agreed to. In the time it took for him to arrive at the home, Sarah said Cash's breathing got worse so she began CPR on him. When her boyfriend, arrived, Sarah rushed Cash out to the car and they brought him to the hospital. They arrived at the hospital around 11:00 a.m.

Cash was life-flighted from that hospital to one that was better prepared to help him. Five days later, Cash passed away. Sarah told investigators that she did not know what had happened to Cash. She said that she might have accidentally hit his head on the door when she was taking him outside. Later, Sarah said that Cash fell out of his swing. She then gave a third story: that she had fallen down the stairs while holding Cash, which caused his head to hit the tile floor. Medical examiners didn't think that any of these stories could explain the kinds of injuries Cash had.

Sarah was charged with child abuse resulting in death. Cash had fractures in his skull, swelling in his brain, burst blood vessels, and blood in his eyes at the time he died. Sarah was found guilty and was sentenced to seventy years to life in prison. She would become eligible for parole after just thirty-five years.

About The Angel Project

The Angel Project is a Facebook page made to remember all children who have passed away. This blog was made to tell the stories of the children on The Angel Project to go along with the pictures of them that are posted on the Facebook page. I believe that every child who has passed away deserves to have their stories told and be remembered. Here, I have posted as much information as I can find about each child. There is not much known about some of these children, but I have still posted them so their lives can be remembered. May all of these beautiful children rest in peace.

Warning

Some of these stories may be disturbing to some readers. Disturbing photographs are never posted, but some of the children whose stories are posted here were victims of child abuse or murder. These stories are told here, just like the stories of other children. If you are sensitive to stories like this, please be cautious if you decide to read them.

Note...

To the best of my knowledge, all information published on this blog is the complete truth. If you find anything on this blog that is inaccurate, please leave a comment to tell me about it and I will fix it. This blog is here to tell the stories of each of these children. I care about every single one of these precious angels deeply, and I want their stories to be told accurately. If anything here is incorrect, it is an honest mistake on my part, and I will gladly fix it if it is brought to my attention. In addition, if you know any additional information than is posted here, please tell me in the comments and I will add it to the child's story. Thank you.

None of the photos used on this blog belong to me. If a photo on this blog is your property and you would like it to be credited to you or removed, please do not hesitate to ask and I will credit it or remove it as soon as possible. Thank you.

In addition, if you see any minor errors (typos, pictures no longer showing up, broken links, etc.) please point them out in the comment section under the post and I will correct them as well. Thank you.

About Sources

When I began this blog years ago I failed to add sources to posts after writing them. Since then, I have began listing my sources after each post and did my best to go back through my old posts and find specific websites and articles that my computer's history had documented I had used. Unfortunately, some older posts have sources I can no longer locate and some of the sources have even been deleted. I apologize for the lack of sources listed on older posts. If there is something you recognize as being from a certain source on a certain post, please inform me in the comments and I will review the post and the source and add it to the post. Thank you.